I like living. I've sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.
- Agatha Christie

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Nasi Ayam

I have never made chicken rice on my own before having my mother instructing me all the time. And because she was always around, I never thought of taking her recipe. So, when I got bored of the normal meals we had, I decided to make Chicken Rice and went scouring for a chicken rice recipe on the net. I stumbled into this site http://fiqah99.blogspot.com/ and decided to try out the recipe she had. I say, it turned out well. She takes great picture of her food too!

Nasi Ayam Chef Wan

Ingredients for the rice:

1/2 cup margarine ( I used butter)

2 onions, chopped ( I blended this)

2 cm ginger, sliced thinly (Blended)

3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly ( blended)

1 cm cinnamon

4 cloves

2 strand of screwpine leaves, tear it in the middle and tie it in a knot.

4 cups of rice

1 1/2 cups of chicken stock

salt to taste

Method:

Melt the butter in a pan. Saute the blended items with the cloves, cinnamon and screwpine leaves.

Add the rice and saute this too for a while.

Add the chicken stock and salt and simmer for a minute or two.

Then, I put the whole thing in a rice cooker and let tit continue to cook.

The chicken:

1 whole chicken, halved

1 inch ginger

2 cloves of garlic ( I used 4)

A generous amount of black pepper

2 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp margarine ( I used butter and more than 3 tbsp)

salt to taste

Method:

Blend the garlic and ginger. Not too fine.

Mix the garlic and ginger in the butter to make a paste.

Then, rub the butter mixture underneath the skin of the bird.

On the skin of the chicken, rub it with the soy sauce, salt and pepper.

Roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Chilli sauce:

10 red chilies

3 cloves of garlic

1 inch ginger

1/2 cup chicken stock

3 tbsp vinegar ( depending on your preference)

Method:

Put the chilies, ginger and garlic in a blender with half of the chicken stock. Blitz until it is fine.

If the mixture is too thick add in the rest of the stock.

Add in the vinegar one tbsp at a time and mix well.

Soy sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup chicken stock

sesame oil ( I used the toasted one)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Oil drippings from the roasted chicken

Method:

Heat the oil dripping in a saucepan and saute the garlic.

Add the soy sauce and chicken stock, leave it to simmer for 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and dash some sesame oil into the sauce.

Chicken Broth

(This is also used to make the rice and sauces)

2 chicken carcasses

1 cinnamon stick

cardamom, cloves and star anise

1 tsp each of fennel, cumin and coriander seeds.

1 carrot stick, chopped

Cabbage, sliced ( amount is entirely up to you, just balance it with the amount of carrot)

1 ltr water

2 onions, each cut into 4

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

salt

Method:

Simmer the chicken carcass in the water with everything . Add in salt to taste.